Issues - Maxpres

[Chapter 8]

(Preston)

As the day passed so did the rain. Now dark cloud covered the large endless sky, the air smelt of damp leaves and puddles scattered the ground. Also a chilly breeze had picked up, Preston was just wearing his shirt so he was freezing as he sat at the back of his Religious Studies class. At least it was the last lesson so as soon as he could he would run home to put on a sweater of some sort.

Today had been weird for Preston. Max hadn't spoken to him and barely made any sort of eye contact. It made him suspicious but mostly upset. After what had happened the previous night with his mom he needed to talk to someone about it and hoped Max would be the perfect person but alas he was wrong. Maybe he knew he saved that post of him shirtless? Preston had seen ads for apps that let you see everything on Instagram but most were extremely expensive and usually scams, he doubted Max would be dumb enough to buy one of those apps.

It wasn't just Max that had been acting weird. Nerris and Harrison, mainly Nerris though, had been giving him weird looks most of the day. Yes, he had seen the picture of Max a couple of times while going through his saved photos but had he made it obvious he saw them?  Plus how would they even know it was Max?! After a bit of thinking he remembered staring at him during chemistry and then rambling on about him rather dreamily at lunchtime, that's probably why.

"Hey Preston!" Nerris called from beside Preston, causing him to stop his thinking.

"Nerris what have I said about doing that, it's annoying!" He snapped rather sassily. "Anyways, what do you want?" Preston asked as he turned to face her more.

Nerris leant closer so she could talk more quietly. "Have you spoken to Max at all today?" She asked him.

"No I haven't..." he sighed rather sadly. "Why do you want to know? Is it because of earlier?"

Nerris shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not? Anyways, are you free tonight? I was wondering if you wanted to come round mine? Harrison will be there too."

Preston smiled, he usually jumped at any chance like this. "I'd love to Nerris! What are we planning on doing?" He asked excitedly.

Nerris seemed hesitant in her response. "Well... I was hoping to try and get you and Harrison into DND buuut I don't think that'll work, we can just watch movies and eat a fuck ton of sugar!" She told him eventually, a wide grin on her face. "I haven't actually asked Harrison yet so after this lesson I'll go find him while you wait by the school gates!"

"Can I not come with you to find Harrison, I don't fancy standing-"

"No! I'll be fine, I'm sure you'll be okay too!" Nerris cut him off before facing the front.

Preston raised an eyebrow in curiosity and mild confusion. Why was everyone acting weird around him? Groaning slightly, he laid his head in his arms and stayed like that until the bell rang. Nerris left the class as soon as possible while Preston took his time, wanting to be left out by the school gates alone for as little time as possible. Once his bag was packed he slowly walked through the crowds of students. He was aware his slow pace was pissing off others but he didn't care, the slower the better to be honest.

Once he got to the gates there were still a few students filing their way out and a couple waiting by the gates. One was Max.

Preston grinned, this was perfect! He was alone and had no way of being able to walk away, especially if he was waiting for someone. "Hi Max!" He called over, grinning as he approached the smaller boy.

Max looked over at him, his green-blue eyes seemed slightly nervous at the sight of him. "Oh Uh... Hey Pres!" He called back, turning to face him.

"Are you waiting for anyone? I'm going to Nerris's later but she's run off to find Harrison so she can ask him to come too." He explained, leaning against the metal bars behind him as he hugged his arms. Now he was out of the bustling crowds and not moving he started to feel the cold more.

Max's eyes widened. "Nerris told me she wanted to talk to me after school so told me to meet her here?! I've been waiting for god knows how long!" He told him.

Preston raised an eyebrow. "What? That's weird..." he looked at the school. "When did she say this?" He asked

"When I was making my way to my lesson after lunch, she caught up with me and asked me to meet her. Maybe she forgot." Max responded, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Preston nodded in agreement. "Possibly..." He said. Time dragged on and still Nerris had not appeared with Harrison. "I-I think we should go now..." he said, a clear shiver in his voice.

Max looked up at him and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I don't want to be yelled at." He sighed. "Also are you cold?" He asked.

Preston shrugged. "K-kinda... c-come on lets just s-start walking t-that'll warm me up..." he said, starting to slowly walk down the path. He constantly rubbed his arms until he felt something around him, something warm.

"It might be a bit small but it does the same job." Max spoke softly as he put his hoodie on Preston, having to go slightly on his tiptoes to put it on.

Preston looked down at Max and smiled. The hoodie was small but that also meant it felt more cozy, he snuggled into it and let Max's scent bathe him. "Thank you Max..." he thanked.

Max shrugged. "Don't mention it..." he said in response. "Look um... I'm sorry I haven't spoken to you today I haven't been feeling too good..." he told him, fiddling with bandages on his arms.

Preston saw the bandages and blinked in surprise. "I'm assuming those have something to do with it?" He guessed, when Max nodded in response he sighed. "Max you know I worry about you, lying about this stuff and pretending everything is okay is the worst thing to do." He told him

Max seemed hesitant with his response, he just stared at the ground with guilty eyes. "I-I know I just..." he trailed off, biting his lip. "Never mind, I'm sorry Okay?"

Preston frowned and moved closer to Max. "It's okay, I know how hard it is..." he sighed.

Eventually they had to split up. Preston took off Max's hoodie, with hesitation, and gave it back to him before making his way down his road. "Text me later!" He called over to him. He continued the rest of the walk in silence and once he got to his house he walked in, he sighed dreamily. Now he knew he definitely had a crush on Max...
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Sorry for not updating for almost a month! I kinda forgot about this